The Strange Reason This Snowstorm Hit Western Wisconsin

Getting snow in Minnesota and Wisconsin isn't unusual this time of year, but this rare storm that just hit western Wisconsin wasn't your usual storm.

While much of the Land of 10,000 Lakes and America's Dairyland didn't have much of a winter last year, Mother Nature and Old Man Winter have teamed up to drop some snowflakes across many parts of both states already.

Although this Thanksgiving Day 2024 snowstorm that was intense enough to close part of Interstate 94 after causing numerous crashes in western Wisconsin didn't have anything to do with Mother Nature.

Both states of Minnesota and Wisconsin are used to seeing some snow during the month of November. According to Current Results, much of Wisconsin sees around two inches of snow on average during the 11th month of the year. Minnesota often sees even more, with average November snowfall amounts ranging from 2 to 6 inches.

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But on Thursday, November 28th, 2024, a rare snowstorm that hit parts of western Wisconsin along I-94 near Menomonie was actually manmade. Wait, what?!? Can we *really* now control the weather?!?

Well, not quite. But as this Fox 9 TV story reported, the snow that fell over in Wisconsin was created by steam from a nearby factory and eventually wound up causing 16 crashes along a 100-mile stretch of highway on Thanksgiving Day.

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So what happened? A post on the Facebook page of the National Weather Service Office in the Twin Cities explained that 'steam particles emitted from a factory in Menomonie were just enough for supercooled water droplets in low stratus clouds to form into a plume of snowflakes,' the post said.

READ MORE: Why One Inch of Snow Is More Dangerous Than a Snowstorm in Minnesota

The result was an extremely slippery stretch of highway. I've seen signs near Granite Peak Ski Area in Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, and Buck Hill Ski Area in Burnsville, Minnesota that warn you of possible ice on the road when those ski hills are making snow, but this is the first I've heard of a factory causing a snowstorm!

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